Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Brewsday Tuesday: New Belgium Brewing sour beer events in New Orleans

Sour, funky and wild beers are increasingly popular in New Orleans, and an upcoming New Belgium Brewing Company event offers a look at the techniques used to make these types of beers.

Batches of the same barrel-aged beer can have different flavors due to differences in the barrels. To create a consistent product, brewers blend the sour brews from different barrels until a beer is perfected. New Belgium blending masters Lauren Salazar and Eric Salazar run the program that blends these beers and they share their experience at Warehouse Grille (869 Magazine St., 504-322-2188) on March 10.

During the symposium, Lauren and Eric will explain the blending process and techniques they use. Attendees can taste various single-barrel, unblended batches of the base beer, New Belgium's Love Oscar, and create their own blends.

The symposium is offered from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., and each session is capped at 50 seats. The program is being offered in a five-city tour, also including St. Louis, Fort Worth, Texas, Nashville, Tennessee, and Philadelphia.

The two brewers also participate in a more casual event on March 9 at the Snooty Cooter at Cooter Brown’s Tavern (509 S. Carrollton Ave., 504-866-9104). They will be joined by brewers from NOLA Brewing Company and Great Raft Brewing, and each brewery will offer samples of two rare sour beers on draft.

The New Belgium beers will be Love Felix and Oscar Kissed Cherry, a rare blend of Love Oscar and Transatlantique Kriek. Great Raft offers Mixed Feelings and the New Orleans debut of Oceans Between Us, an IPA brewed with Brettanomyces yeasts. NOLA Brewing provides two small-batch sour beers, Against the Currant and Out Tequil-Ya.